Wednesday, December 28, 2011

If there was any doubt how big Cam Newton's Superman pose has gotten, it was erased Wednesday night during the Miami Heat's visit.

Dwyane Wade won the game over a gritty Charlotte Bobcats team, 96-95, with a six-foot bank shot with 2.9 seconds left. Then he did Newton's "Superman" gesture right at Newton, who was seated courtside (Cam has now come to both Bobcats' games this season and sat front and center).

LeBron James did the ripping-the-shirt-off Superman thing, too, standing slightly behind and to the right of Wade, after Wade's game-winner. Newton laughed when he saw it, Wade said, adding that he wasn't making fun of Newton with the gesture.

"That was a show of respect to him," Wade said. "Not showing nobody up."

It was a tough ending for the Bobcats, but they still have had a great first three days of the season. A Bobcats team that was supposed to be awful edged a good Milwaukee squad by a point in the season opener and then had a very good chance to beat the Heat two days later.

But Wade -- even though he said he wasn't jumping well off his sore foot -- still won it at the end. He had noticed Newton sitting courtside earlier in the game.

"First of all, the guy is huge," Wade said of Newton. "... I've seen him play a lot. He's entertaining. He had one of the best rookie years of any player to ever play the game."

Perhaps imitation really is flattery. I suppose it is a tribute to Newton that an athlete of Wade's stature was doing Newton's move after a game-winning shot. But this one still hurt Charlotte.

The Bobcats had a great chance for a signature win Wednesday night. But ultimately, they couldn't quite find their own superhero when it mattered most.